Threats and gun emojis

Adams, 26, founded a social media company called "State Snaps" four years ago. The company operates on various social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter, court documents said.

"At one time, Adams had over a million followers on his social media sites, which mostly contained images and videos of young adults engaged in crude behavior, drunkenness and nudity," court documents said.

His followers often used the slogan "Do it for state" when posting videos and images. So, Adams tried to purchase the internet domain "doitforstate.com" from a Cedar Rapids resident who owned it, court records said. But the owner did not want to part with it.

"Between 2015 and 2017, Adams repeatedly tried to obtain 'doitforstate.com,' but the owner of the domain would not sell it. Adams also threatened one of the domain owner's friends with gun emojis after the friend used the domain to promote concerts," court records show.

Then he had an idea: Why not take it by force?

Cousin sentenced to 20 years

In June 2017, Adams enlisted his cousin to break into the domain owner's home and force him to transfer it. The cousin drove to the domain owner's house and provided a demand note, which contained instructions for transferring the domain to Adams, court records show.

After entering the home, the intruder grabbed the victim's arm and ordered him to connect his computer to the internet.

He put the firearm against the victim's head and ordered him to follow the instructions. "Fearing for his life, the victim quickly turned to move the gun away from his head. The victim then managed to gain control of the gun," court records show.